The Kalamazoo Wings players were talking about the mustaches they’re growing for “Movember” to help raise awareness of prostate and testicular cancer.

Started in Australia in 2003 by a couple of men who wanted to make mustaches fashionable, growing the lip fuzz in November became a cancer awareness project a year later.

The project has spread throughout the world, especially among hockey players.

If the three K-Wings seem to have especially well-established mustaches compared to many of their teammates, there’s a good reason.

“I had a beard going from the start of the season,” Archibald said. “A lot of guys start clean and shave and start (Nov. 1) with nothing, but I decided to just shave to the handlebars and keep it going.”

Charlebois and Cloutier both started their mustaches on Nov. 1.

“I have to admit I had a little help chemically,” Charlebois said. “We put some black dye in it, so that helped it out.”

Cloutier also added a little dye to his mustache, “otherwise it kinda grows in blond,” he said.

Charlebois has been participating in the awareness project for four years and Archibald since juniors. It’s just the second year for Cloutier who said facial hair was taboo on his Bentley University hockey team.

“It’s for a good cause, and why wouldn’t you want to do it?” Charlebois asked. “We’re all in it together and I’ll support everyone who’s had prostate cancer.”

Nick Bootland

Said K-Wings coach Nick Bootland: “You see it everywhere throughout hockey right now. Everybody’s jumping on board. Any time there’s a good cause, it seems like hockey players, or athletes in general, are involved.

“I think athletes have a warm spot in their hearts for things like that. You see the linesmen, the referees, guys throughout the whole league are doing it. It’s exciting to raise awareness.”

Cloutier counts his uncle, who is “doing better now,” among those who had prostate cancer.

Sporting the Captain Morgan look, Cloutier said the hardest part is the grooming: “Shaving around it and keeping the actual style.”

By Dec. 1, Archibald plans to go back to his beard, but Cloutier and Charlebois aren’t sure whether or not their mustaches will fall to the razor.

“Maybe I’ll keep it,” Charlebois said. “If we get on a win streak or if I get a couple goals, I’ll have to keep it. But I think come end of November, it’s gonna have to come off.”

The K-Wings (7-5-0-0) will try to start a winning streak when they fly to Florida to take on the Orlando Solar Bears (5-5-0-2), one of the new ECHL teams, in a three-game series.

After defeating the South Carolina Stingrays, 5-3, in a Wednesday morning Education Day game last Wednesday, the K-Wings lost to the Stingrays, 5-1, on Friday.

“We played 60 minutes Saturday,” Charlebois said. “The last couple games we’ve had, we played either 40 minutes or sometimes just 20 minutes, but (Saturday), we played 60 and it showed.”

Bootland said Friday’s loss opened the team’s eyes.

“We came out with a lackluster first period, which is unacceptable,” he said. “You’re not gonna win game when you do that. We knew (Fort Wayne) hadn’t lost on the road in regulation and they’re a very good divisional opponent. We’re gonna see a lot of them. We said we have an opportunity to change this week into a positive week if we win this game.

“We haven’t been happy with the way things have been going as a hockey team, as an organization, as a coaching staff. I know the players are disappointed too. They know we’re better than what our record is right now.”

The line of Archibald (2 goals, 1 assist), Eric Kattelus (1-3)and Brett Lysak (4-2) along with the defensive pairing of Elgin Reid (1-2) and Sam Ftorek (0-4) had the hot sticks last week, scoring eight of the K-Wings’ 12 goals in the last three games.

Kory Karlander

NEARING 1,000 POINTS: The goal scored by K-Wings center Kory Karlander on Saturday was the veteran’s 999th career point.

“Was there any shock to anybody that he was gonna get to that (1,000 points)?” Bootland asked. “You talk about longevity and love of the game.

“Here’s the biggest for instance for me. It’s a 6-2 game (Saturday), there’s a neutral zone faceoff with 2:02 to go and Karly wins that faceoff with his intensity so hard that our d-man can’t hold it in because that’s the way he competes all the time.”